


Duplicator Dilemmas

by SuperJimmy978



Category: Calvin & Hobbes
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-11-16 23:24:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11263188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperJimmy978/pseuds/SuperJimmy978
Summary: Calvin is out for summer break, and he is ecstatic and elated for his time away from school...but he doesn't know what with his freedom to do yet. He decides to do another Duplicator test - but even then, he doesn't know where to go from there. But when he and Hobbes get another visit from Galaxoid and Nebular, Calvin enlists their help to shake things up - leading to hijinx unlike anything Calvin and Hobbes have dealt with before.





	1. Chapter 1

“Freedom! Freedom at last!” Calvin gleefully yelled as he and Susie Derkins got off the bus.

Today was the last day of first grade for Calvin and Susie. Once the two got home, summer break would officially begin for them. Calvin couldn’t have been happier.

“I thought it would never end! It felt like I had been going to first grade for 10 years! But now it’s finally over! Summer is here!!!”

Susie rolled her eyes as Calvin continued to show his excitement. “Yeah, three more months before you go back to first grade” she snarked to the energetic boy. 

Calvin’s face of glee turned to one of anger. “Shut up, Susie! I managed to pass the first grade! I got all D’s – well, and a C, but I still passed”

“You passed? Man, the educational system is a joke” Susie said. She hoped with all her heart that she wouldn’t have Calvin in her class again.

“Summer break just started! Don’t you dare bring up second grade!” Calvin yelled, not wanting to be reminded that summer break was only temporary. 

Susie rolled her eyes once more. “Whatever. Later, weirdo!”

Now that Calvin was done talking to Susie, he dashed to his house. He wanted to think about all the hijinx he was going to get up to over summer break.

“I’M HOME!” Calvin yelled as he opened the door. A second later, he began panicking on the inside. He realized what was about to happen – and it was too late to do anything about it.

Before he knew it, Hobbes had bolted towards the young boy, grabbing him aggressively. The duo crashed far into the grass.

“Wow! That must a new record!” Hobbes said eagerly. 

Calvin was not as amused. “Oh. Wonderful. Well, at least this is the last time I ever have to put up with that.”

Hobbes snickered when Calvin said that. “That is, until August when you begin second grade”

“Shut up, furball! I’ll learn my lesson!”

When Hobbes heard that, he laughed his furry butt off. Calvin’s glare intensified, but the tiger did not care. Hobbes thought that that was the most absurd thing to ever come out of Calvin’s mouth, which really said something.

“You?! Learn your lesson?! Hahahaha! Flying pigs are more plausible!” the tiger continued to laugh. Between Susie and Hobbes, Calvin had enough of being heckled, so he stormed off into the house while Hobbes continued to laugh so hard that tears began flowing from his eyes.  
\--

Calvin laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

The boy truly had no idea how to start his summer break. He figured he would create a new invention, or try a new experiment with an invention he already created. He thought about his Transmogrifier, his Time machine, and his Duplicator. He had already modified his Transmogrifier box into a Transmogrifier gun, and there wasn’t any way he could think of to modify the Time Machine.

But the Duplicator? That could work, he thought to himself. He thought about when he did modify the Duplicator so that a good Calvin would be brought about. He shuddered at the memory. The good Calvin was something Calvin felt he would regret all his life, as the thought of a good version of himself made him want to hurl. 

He didn’t know how to modify the Duplicator, but there had to be a way. He wouldn’t stop until he thought of something. Just then, Hobbes came into the room. He let out a chuckle, still thinking about what Calvin said, much to the boy’s annoyance.

“Gotta hand it to you. That was great!” Hobbes said. Calvin was not about to have his thoughts interrupted by his tiger companion, however. 

“Keep that furry mouth shut. I’m thinking about what I’m going to do today.”

“Relax!” Hobbes replied. “You just finished first grade, and school will only get harder from here. Just lay in bed all day”

“Well, it just so happens that I’ve already thought of something, Hobbes” Calvin said with a smirk on his face.

Hobbes raised an eyebrow. “I’m not gonna like this, am I?”

“It’s time for a third duplicator test!”

Hobbes sighed with a great amount of exasperation. “Yep, I don’t like it. This is what I was talking about, Calvin. You never learn!”

Calvin’s smirk widened into a smug smile. “See, that’s where you’re wrong, Hobbes. I’m not doing the traditional duplicates like we did the first time, nor am I going to bring back  
that appalling good me.”

Hobbes scratched his head. “Then…then what are you going to do?”

“I will….uhhhhhh…” Calvin pondered for a bit. He had not gotten this far yet.

“If you need me, I’ll be taking a nap”

A figurative light bulb appeared over Calvin’s head as he saw Hobbes heading out of the room. He knew exactly what he was going to do. “I got it, Hobbes! I know exactly what we’re going to do!”

Hobbes turned around to face the young boy. The tiger really did not want to hear this idea, but he figured that Calvin would just harass him all day until the idea finally came out, so he figured he might as well hear it now. “I think we should duplicate you for a change!” the boy said.

Hobbes scoffed at the idea. Was Calvin trying to top himself with saying absurd things? To Hobbes, it sure seemed like it. 

“Give me some time, Calvin. I gotta make a list of all the things I would rather do. It’ll probably take a few hours”

Calvin groaned. “You’re right, Hobbes. I mean, sometimes I can barely put up with just one of you. I’m just grasping for straws here”

“Well, you continue grasping those straws. I hear sheep that need counting”

Another brilliant idea struck Calvin’s head. “No, wait – this time I got it! I’m gonna make several duplicates again, but this time they won’t know they’re duplicates. They’ll have all my memories, and they’ll all think they’re me!”

Hobbes’ eyes widened when he heard that. He looked genuinely impressed, much to Calvin’s surprise. “Wow, Calvin! That is astonishing…ly idiotic!” Calvin’s face sported a deadpan look. He should’ve known that Hobbes was faking that impressment. 

Calvin groaned again. Those were the only two ideas he could think of so far. Maybe Hobbes was right. Maybe he should just take the day to relax before getting up to shenanigans starting tomorrow. 

But then again, maybe he was wrong. Suddenly, a strange object in the sky caught the eye of both Calvin and Hobbes. The two initially had no idea what it could be, but as it got a little closer, they saw that it was a spaceship. More aliens were coming to Earth, just like the duo of Galaxoid and Nebular had just a few months prior. 

As the spaceship got even closer, they realized that it looked familiar. Then it hit the two – it was Galaxoid and Nebular. Calvin and Hobbes rushed outside to greet the aliens as the ship landed in the woods.

When they got outside, Galaxoid and Nebular were emerging from the trees. “Greetings, Emperor Calvin of Earth” Nebular said. 

“It is a pleasure to see you two again” Calvin replied. “But what brings you back to our planet?”

This time it was Galaxoid who spoke. “We want to check out how our property is doing. We meant to come months ago, but our emperor, Constellius, got mixed up in some crazy antics. Would you give us a briefing on how the Earth is doing?”

Calvin thought about it for a moment, but then a sinister gin appeared on all his faces, to the concern of Galaxoid, Nebular, and especially Hobbes. He was suffering the dilemma  
of not figuring out the next Duplicator, and now Galaxoid and Nebular have just arrived. Perhaps the two situations could meet.

“I’ll give you a briefing on the Earth…on one condition.” The aliens and Hobbes were even more confused now.

If Galaxoid and Nebular had eyebrows, they would have been raised. “What could you possibly want, Calvin?” Nebular asked. 

“Oh, it’s not too much. It’s just…I’ve been wanting to try a duplicator experiment. I’ve done two in the past, but I want to shake things up the third time. Would you two help me?” 

Galaxoid and Nebular turned around to whisper about it. Hobbes, meanwhile, whispered to Calvin. “What are you doing?” he said, with an even stronger tint of exasperation. 

“Trust me, Hobbes. It’ll work out” Calvin whispered back.

Just as he said that, Galaxoid and Nebular turned back around to face Calvin and Hobbes. “Alright, Calvin. You have a deal” Galaxoid said.

Hobbes’ jaw dropped while Calvin cheered. “HOORAY!”

“Follow us into the ship” Nebular said.

As the four walked into the woods and towards the aliens’ spaceship, Hobbes dreaded the thought of what was about to go down. ‘There’s no way this can end well’ he thought to himself. He gulped and braced himself as he and Calvin entered the ship.


	2. Chapter 2

Calvin tapped his foot as he grew more impatient. 

If he had stuck with duplicating Hobbes or creating the duplicates that didn’t realize their true nature, he would’ve been done by now. Galaxoid and Nebular had taken over half an hour. 

Hobbes was busy looking at the pure golden interior of the spaceship. 

“Hey, could you hurry it up?!” he yelled, finally having enough of waiting. “I would like to make it home by dinner!”

“No, no, no!” Hobbes in turn yelled. “Take as long as you want!”

That remark earned Hobbes a glare from the six-year-old boy. “Hobbes, don’t encourage this!”

Before the two could get into a full-blown argument, Galaxoid entered the room, sporting a glare of his own. “Excuse me, Emperor Calvin, but do you want our help or not?”

Fearful that Galaxoid and Nebular would abandon his idea, an uneasy smile forced itself onto Calvin’s face. “Yes, of course I do”

“Then be patient. We’re almost done anyway”

Calvin waited until Galaxoid left the room before sitting by the wall and crossing his arms, sporting he best pouting face he could make (he was only a six-year-old boy).  
He and Hobbes waited another five minutes, before Galaxoid came back. “Alright, Calvin” the alien said, “Come with us”

Calvin and Hobbes followed Galaxoid into another room in the spaceship, where there stood Nebular, next to a golden chair that had a golden head appendage on top of it. ‘These guys sure do love their gold’ Hobbes thought to himself. 

“So you’re gonna duplicate me….with this?” Calvin said. The golden chair and head appendage looked a lot fancier than his cardboard boxes, but Calvin wasn’t fully invested in it yet.

“Just get into the chair and we’ll show you” Nebular replied. 

Calvin obliged and sat down. The head appendage lowered down and almost glued itself onto Calvin’s head. 

Then Galaxoid gasped, as if he had forgotten something. “We have a quick warning for you, Emperor Calvin. This will hurt, if only a little”

Then all of a sudden, purple lightning began emitting out of the head appendage, causing Hobbes to back away. Calvin didn’t scream or squeal, but he looked like he was hurting. 

“Ow!” he suddenly yelled. “This does hurt!”

“We understand, Calvin” Nebular stated. “But the duplicates are about to take form”

More and more purple lightning sprout from the appendage, and Hobbes was not ready for what he saw next. He saw four purple blobs leave Calvin’s body, and as they moved away from him, they began to take his shape. Soon, the colors of blue, yellow, and black appeared on the first blob. Then the next blob got red and yellow, and the third one got brown and white. The last of the blobs got tan coloring. 

And then their formations were complete. Calvin recognized the first three of them. The blue and black one was his favorite alter ego, Spaceman Spiff. The red and yellow one was his superhero alter ego, Stupendous Man. The third one was Detective Tracer Bullet, and the fourth one…was not familiar. He had no idea who he was. 

Stupendous Man was only there for a second before he started to speak. “Ah, yes! Now the world will know the awesome power of….Stupendous Man! Defender of freedom and advocate of liberty!”

Hobbes facepalmed. “Oh no” he whispered to himself. 

Then Spaceman Spiff spoke. “Our brave hero, Spaceman Spiff, has found himself captured by aliens! He stands alongside four absolutely dashing young lads….and a TIGERMAN!!!”   
Hobbes’ eyes widened when Spaceman Spiff focused his attention on him. He couldn’t think of any reason why the space explorer would have any interest in him, though his questions would soon be answered. “Tigermen are very valuable on the planet of Mok! Spaceman Spiff is in deep debt to the Mokians, and selling this Tigerman to them should clear his good name! Down with you, foul beast!!!”

With that, Spaceman Spiff got out his blaster and shot at Hobbes. The tiger moved out of the way, but the blast still got some of his whiskers. Hobbes looked at Spaceman Spiff with a death glare colored onto his face. He unseathed his claws and let out a mighty roar before going after Spaceman Spiff, the latter beginning to run as he blasted at Hobbes.  
While all of this was going on, Calvin decided to finally ask Galaxoid and Nebular what was up. “Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous Man, Tracer Bullet, whoever that is…..”

“I’m Safari Al!” the fourth duplicate finally said. Safari Al and Tracer Bullet had only been standing there and observing the ship and everything that was going on. When Safari Al revealed his name, it hit Calvin. He remembered pretending to be a safari guy before, but he only did it once and his mom cut it short by making him clean his room. With that clarified, he turned his attention back to Galaxoid and Nebular, who had already figured out what he was going to ask. 

“Our device searched through your brain” Nebular clarified. “It found those four alter egos of yours, those people you wish you could be like…and the duplicates were created from there.”

Calvin’s face brightened. “That’s…..awesome! This was brilliant!”

Safari Al went up to Stupendous Man. “So you’re a superhero?”

Stupendous Man gave the safari explorer a deadpan look. “Why else would I wear these tights?”

“Squidward could think of three good reasons” Safari Al replied. 

“Well, this ‘Squidward’ you speak of is not here! I am the great Stupendous Man, defender of free will! You will never find a hero as glorious and amazing as I”

“Hopefully not as egotistical, either” Safari Al rolled his eyes at Stupendous Man’s bold claims. 

Before Stupendous Man could respond to Safari Al, Spaceman Spiff bumped into Stupendous Man as he was running from Hobbes, causing both of them to fall onto the ground.   
Stupendous Man got up first, and he was full of fury and anger.

“YOU DARE?!” he kicked Spaceman Spiff’s stomach while he was down. 

Spaceman Spiff got up, and he too had become furious. “Do you know who I am? I am Spaceman Spiff, Explorer Extraordinaire! I am the greatest hero in the entire galaxy!”

Stupendous Man scoffed when Spaceman Spiff stated his claim. “You?! A great hero?! Give me a break! Now do you know who I am? I am….STUPENDOUS MAN! Defender of the good man! Champion of the free will! S…for Stupendous! T…for tiger, ferocity of! U…for underwear, red! P…for –“

It seemed that the universe would never allow Stupendous Man to finish his chant. The first time, Ms. Wormwood grabbed him before he could say the whole chant, and now Spaceman Spiff blasted at him before he could finish.

“Our hero finds himself battling a delusional superhuman named Stupendous Man! Spaceman Spiff, however, wishes he could fighting against some galactic empire, not some egotistical brat with delusions grandeur!” Spaceman Spiff said all of this as he continued to blast against Spaceman Spiff. Galaxoid and Nebular finally had enough of this.

“Alright, that’s it, you two!” Galaxoid yelled, desperate to avoid any damage to their spaceship. But before he could finish his threat, Spaceman Spiff blasted at the alien – setting his phaser to ‘stun’ – and knocked him out cold. 

Stupendous Man wanted to avoid any problems with Nebular, so he punched him hard enough in the face to send him flying towards the wall, knocking him out as well. 

“Now that the alien’s been dealt with, Stupendous Man can deal with his most annoying foe yet – Spaceman Spiff! With all his great might, Stupendous Man will take out this egotistical brat with delusions grandeur as quickly as possible he could continue to fight the good fight!”

Spaceman Spiff blasted at Stupendous Man, but Stupendous Man dodged at all his blasts and punched the ‘Explorer Extraordinaire’ so with such great force that Spaceman Spiff was forced out of the spaceship, leaving a huge hole out there. Stupendous Man proceeded to fly out of the ship to continue their battle.   
Calvin, Hobbes, Safari Al, and Tracer Bullet all stood there for a few seconds, dumbfounded by what had just taken place. 

“Call me crazy” Safari Al broke the silence, “but I think we should go after them.”

“Now, call me crazy” Hobbes said, turning his attention to Calvin, “but I think this has gone horribly wrong. Just like all of your other schemes.”

“Yeah, go ahead, Hobbes. Gloat. It won’t fix the problem!”

Tracer Bullet had just been standing there with his hands in his pockets the whole time, so the other three were taken aback when he finally spoke. “I really wish I had a bottle and a better gun in my holster, because this is an interesting predicament I have found myself in”

Hobbes sighed. “If only Calvin could go that long without talking”

Hobbes’ remark caused Tracer Bullet to turn his attention to the tiger. “The kid – the original kid – and his tiger…they seem to be good pals, yet…well, I thought I bickered with people a lot, but when you see these two argue and fight, you gotta wonder how they put up with each other. And then there’s what’s-his-face….Safari Al. But he’s uninteresting” 

Safari Al raised an eyebrow. “He’s also right here”

Tracer Bullet continued on as if Safari Al hadn’t said anything. “What is interesting is those two dunderheads. Both fighting each because they despise they qualities of the other, even though they themselves have those same qualities. One fancying himself a spaceman, the other a superhero. Heh. Superheroes. They really are the big thing now, aren’t they? 10 years ago, your average shmuck would raise an eyebrow at the name ‘Iron Man’ but now he’s a household name. –“

Safari Al had just about enough of this. “Excuse me, forgive me for interrupting, erm…”

“Bullet. Tracer Bullet.”

“Erm, right. Forgive me for interrupting, Tracer Bullet, but is there a point to this monologuing? We should focus our efforts on stopping those two maniacs!” 

“He’s right” Hobbes blurted out. “If we’re lucky, those two are just fighting in the woods. Otherwise, we know how humans work. They freak out when they see something strange, and they won’t be prepared for a spaceman with an actual blaster fighting against a superhuman who can fly!”

“Exactly my point, Hobbes” Safari Al unsheathed his blade. “Let’s-a go!”  
Calvin, Hobbes, and Safari Al all charged towards the exit. However, all three of them stopped in their tracks when they realized Tracer Bullet wasn’t following along.

“Eh, Bullet” Calvin said with a tint of confusion. “Come along, will ya?”

“I’m a private eye, kid” Tracer Bullet replied, wishing he had a cigar in his hand about now. “I don’t have a big ego, but I do consider myself good at what I do. And when you’re good, you’re not cheap – that’s how the world works. I charge $50 a day, plus expenses, so unless you got some greenbacks in your pockets, I ain’t comin along”

Hobbes was not in the mood for Bullet’s antics, already frustrated with Spaceman Spiff and Stupendous Man. But he did not saying anything to Calvin’s private-eyed alter ego. 

Instead, he simply glared at Tracer Bullet and unsheathed his claws. Bullet was startled. 

“Although….I am feeling rather generous today. Perhaps I won’t need any greenbacks today”

“Good” Hobbes sheathed his claws. Calvin took a look through the hole in the spaceship and saw Stupendous Man flying in the sky, carrying Spaceman Spiff by his shirt. “Alright, Hobbes. We’re lucky. They’re still in the woods. But we need to move out!”

The quartet left the spaceship, hoping to stop the two before things got really bad.


	3. Chapter 3

As Calvin, Hobbes, Safari Al, and Tracer Bullet stepped out of the spaceship, they noticed Spaceman Spiff's crushed blaster on the ground. Tracer Bullet kneeled down to take a closer look at the blaster, cupping his chin as he inspected it.

"Interesting. The blaster of that Spaceman Spiff fellow lays here crushed. From the look of it, it seems that it was crushed by a mere human hand. Gotta be Stupendous Man" Tracer Bullet paused for a second or two before turning to face the other three. "Guys…Spaceman Spiff won't stand a chance without that blaster"

Calvin cupped his own chin, thinking about what he could do. Then another light bulb appeared over his blonde head.

"I have a plan! And a plan B!" Calvin said. Hobbes had a look of genuine impressment on his face. He thought he would eventually have to explain the concept of a 'Plan B' to the six-year-old boy. He felt like pinching himself, because this couldn't be real. "You have a plan B? I never thought I'd hear those words come out your mouth."

While Calvin and Hobbes had been talking, Safari Al took a look at the sky. And he didn't like what he was seeing.

"Um…guys…take a look"

Suddenly, Spaceman Spiff and Stupendous Man came crashing towards the ground. Their outfits were torn from the fighting. Stupendous Man got right up and took a look at his opponent. "With Spaceman Spiff down, Stupendous Man flies boldly into the sky to finish this once and for all"

Stupendous Man dashed off into the sky. Spaceman Spiff got up to see Spaceman Spiff circling around and heading towards him.

"Our hero has had one of the toughest battles of his life, and now he must take one of his toughest risks"

As Stupendous Man got closer and closer, Spaceman Spiff moved to the left, causing Stupendous Man to panic. He knew he could not stop quickly enough – so he diverted upwards, just barely managing to do so, but not before Spaceman Spiff got ahold of his cape.

Calvin, Hobbes, Tracer Bullet, and Safari Al were all taken aback by this decision. "What is he doing?!" Safari Al yelled.

Stupendous Man was wondering the same thing, but he couldn't say anything because he was focused on not hitting a tree. Spaceman Spiff did not care for this and continually punched Stupendous Man in the stomach.

Stupendous Man flew high above the trees and managed to wiggle Spaceman Spiff off his foot before flying away.

Spaceman Spiff was not to be taken down that easily, however. The space explorer managed to grab the nearest branch he could latch onto. However, that branch broke off, but Spaceman Spiff latched onto the next branch, with worked out in his favor.

Stupendous Man saw Spaceman Spiff's survival, but was greatly worn out from the fighting and flew away.

"COWARD!" Spaceman Spiff screamed as he struggled to get out of the tree.  
\--

Stupendous Man got onto the ground to take a breath.

He was exhausted, for the battle with Spaceman Spiff had proven to be much tougher and much wearier than he had expected.

"Stupendous….Stupendous Man has truly faced a worthy opponent. He will prevail against the dreadful Spaceman Spiff, but it won't be a piece of cake like he thought it would. He takes this moment to breathe and think of what to do next."

Then his attention was taken by the sound of a little girl.

It was Susie Derkins, and with her was none other than Rosalyn. They were in Susie's backyard, and Rosalyn had a face of content that Calvin had almost never seen on the high school graduate's face before, for Susie never got up to any of the antics that Calvin put Rosalyn through.

"Annoying Girl? Babysitter Girl? Together?! This would be an emergency of the highest order…if not for Spaceman Spiff. Still, perhaps they could provide some useful supplies…"

He saw them playing a game of soccer. He didn't want to fly just yet, not wanting to get the attention of the girls. He went to the side of the house and saw an open window. He looked left, right, and behind, making sure no one was watching him, and flew into the house.

"Stupendous Man has bravely infiltrated Annoying Girl's house, and….EWWWWW!" He was disgusted and appalled to find that he was in Susie's bedroom, and as she was a girl, there was girl stuff everywhere. "Ew ew ew ew ew –"

He darted out of the room as quickly as he could, stopping to breathe once more when he was in the hallway. "With all his stupendous speed and grace, Stupendous Man has escaped the wretched hive of scum and villainy that was the Annoying Girl's room. And now, he tries to formulate a plan."

Stupendous Man went down the stairs. He would never complement Annoying Girl out loud, but he liked the beige coloring on the walls of her house. He went into the kitchen – and Calvin would've been jealous of how much nicer the Derkins' refrigerator was. He hid behind the kitchen counter, not wanting to attract the attention of his 'nefarious' foes.

"Use that magnanimous brain of yours, Stupendous Man! Think, think, think….brain blast!"

He dashed downstairs, heading towards the basement, just hoping that that the Derkins household would have anything that would be of use to him.

To his surprise, he found a water pistol right at the bottom of the stairs. Susie must've only recently gotten it, because Calvin had never seen her use one before. He picked up the water pistol and grinned.

"Aha! Stupendous Man has found the perfect weapon!" he yelled to himself. He looked around the basement, and saw a bathroom on the other side of the door. That grin returned to his face as he darted into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"With his stupendous intellect, Stupendous Man transforms this mere water pistol into a Duplicator Gun!" he exclaimed as whirling sounds could be heard in the bathroom. Following those whirling sounds were zapping ones, and out came not one, not two, but three Stupendous Men.

"Alright, gang" the original Stupendous Man said. "Here's the plan" he pointed to the duplicate to the left of him. "You will accompany me in battling Spaceman Spiff." He then pointed to the duplicate to the right of them. "You will take care of Babysitter Girl and Annoying Girl. But no flying yet – not until we find Spaceman Spiff!"  
\--

"Oops, I missed" Susie said as the ball she kicked miss the tree, which was the goal she and Rosalyn had set.

"That's alright, Susie. But watch out. 3-2 my favor!"

Just as they were continuing the game, Stupendous Man's second duplicate came out from the back door.

"Play time's over, fiends!" the duplicate yelled, taking Rosalyn and Susie by complete surprise.

Rosalyn was trying to figure out what was going on. "What the….Calvin?! You broke into Susie's house?!"

"I'm not Calvin! I'm Stupendous Man! Well…I'm technically a duplicate of Stupendous Man!"

"This is a new low for you, Calvin!" Susie was even more enraged than Rosalyn was. After all, it was her house that Stupendous Man had broken into. "I can't believe you broke into my house!"

"Again, I'm a duplicate of Stupendous Man! And boy have I got a surprise for you two!"

He rushed back inside and got a bucket of water out, dumping it onto Susie's head. Rosalyn's face turned a deep red.

"Oh, now you've done it, Calvin!" she yelled. "Just wait until your parents hear about this!"

Stupendous Man's duplicate got out another bucket of water and threw it towards Rosalyn. "Oh you little shi -….you are so dead!"

Stupendous Man's duplicate ran back into the house, causing Rosalyn and Susie to go after him. The original Stupendous Man creeped from the side of the house, and he nodded to his duplicate as the two went into the woods to search for Spaceman Spiff.

Spaceman Spiff, however, was much closer than they thought. He was hiding behind a tree, and he had seen everything.

"So…Stupendous Man has created duplicates of his own! Two, to be exact! Well, if he thinks he can beat our courageous hero that way, he's got another thing coming!"

Spaceman Spiff dashed into Calvin's house. Calvin's mom was getting the stove ready. She heard Spaceman Spiff coming in and turned her head.

"Calvin, you're back already? Wait, where did you get that outfit? You didn't change clothes outside, did you?"

Spaceman Spiff panicked. He hadn't thought of the possibility of someone else being in the house, and he was desperately trying to think up a plan.

"Zounds! An intruder has breached into the house!"

Calvin's mom let out a deep sigh. "Calvin, I'm not in the mood for this right now"

"Our hero knocks over one of the kitchen chairs down to slow the intruder down!" Spaceman Spiff yelled as he proceeded to do just that and run away.

"Calvin!"

Spaceman Spiff turned his head to see Calvin's mom, and when he turned back he saw he was about to run into a cabinet. He pushed against it, and in doing so, he caused a flower vase to fall to the ground and shatter. When Calvin's mom saw that, her face turned the color of blood.

"Calvin, that vase cost me $40! Oh, you're in trouble now!"

Spaceman Spiff finally had enough of being called Calvin. "My name is not Calvin, woman!" he said as he dashed up the stairs. "I'm Spaceman Spiff, Explorer Extraordinaire!" Calvin's mom was catching up to him, and the space explorer didn't know what he was going to. That is, until he saw Calvin's old dart gun lying on the hallway floor.

"With an ancient weapon to save the day, Spaceman Spiff fires away!"

He shot all the darts at Calvin's mom, and each one hit her in the stomach.

"You're only getting in more and more trouble, Calvin!"

Just then, though, she tripped and fell onto the floor. This gave Spaceman Spiff time to find Calvin's room and shut himself in. He managed to push Calvin's dresser towards the door, shutting the mom out.

Calvin's mom banged on the door. "Calvin, the amount of trouble you're in is unbelievable!"

She took a minute to take a few deep breaths and try to calm down at least a little. She could hear Spaceman Spiff talking. "With his amazing intellect, Spaceman Spiff has created a Duplicator Gun!"  
She groaned in exasperation. "I'm calling your father right now!" And with that, she went downstairs – her phone was still on the kitchen counter.

Spaceman Spiff had little reason to care for that, however. He was more focused on trying to take down Stupendous Man.

"Stupendous Man thinks he can try and beat Spaceman Spiff with two duplicates, but our hero will prove him wrong. With this amazing Duplicator Gun, our Explorer Extraordinaire creates four duplicates of himself!" Spaceman Spiff zapped himself four times with his Duplicator Gun, and now there were five spacemen in the room.

He looked at all four of them. "Get those bed sheets tied up so we can leave through the window – it's time to finish this fight!"  
\--

The five Spacemen Spiffs wandered into the woods, looking for the Stupendous Men.

The search was over almost as soon as it began. Before they knew it, they saw the three Spacemen Spiff flying in the sky.

"Alright, duplicates. Prepare for the fight of your lives!"

The three Stupendous Men noticed the Spacemen Spiffs, and flew towards them, landing directly in front of the space explorers.

Stupendous Man decided to gloat. "You think you can beat me with more duplicates? Ha! We're stronger and more powerful then you!"

Spaceman Spiff smirked. "We have intellect and strategy on our side, something your pea brain could never dream of!"

Stupendous Man walked closer to Spaceman Spiff. "You might as well give up now, spaceman. There's no way you can win against me!"

"I never quit, you stupendous oaf!"

Stupendous Man grinned. "Then this, I will relish"

"Stop!" yelled a voice in the distance.

The two groups all turned to the left to see Calvin walking towards them. Behind him stood Tracer Bullet, Safari Al, Hobbes…and six other Calvins. Evidently. Calvin had created more duplicates.

"You two have caused enough mayhem for one hour, and that's coming from me!" Calvin yelled, anger coloring his face. "It's time to end this, once and for all!"

Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff both smirked. "Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting" Stupendous Man said, and Spaceman Spiff couldn't help but agree.


	4. Chapter Four

"Let's end this now!" Calvin yelled at nearly the top of his lungs.

Calvin, Tracer Bullet and three of Calvin's duplicates bolted towards Spaceman Spiff and his group, while Hobbes, Safari Al and the other three Calvins went towards Stupendous Man. The Calvins, Tracer Bullet, and Safari Al all yelled individual war cries while Hobbes roared defiantly.

Calvin went directly towards the original Spaceman Spiff and landed a punch on his chin, causing him to fall to the ground. Spaceman Spiff got up to see Calvin sporting a death glare at him.

"And to think you were my favorite alter ego!" Calvin yelled, sounding furious as he did so. "To think out of all of you guys, you were the one I enjoyed the most!"

Spaceman Spiff grinned smugly in response. "Well, I am quite dashing and charming, aren't I?"

Calvin gritted his teeth and pounced upon Spaceman Spiff, all the while Tracer Bullet and the other Calvins fought off the space explorer's duplicates.

"This is all crazy, you know" Tracer Bullet lamented as he dodged a punch from one of the Spacemen Spiff. "I should be at my desk, about to get some greenbacks from a dame, not caught up in….well, whatever you would call this!"

"Even for us, this is a weird experience" the Spiff duplicated replied. "And you wouldn't believe some of the stuff I've seen up in space!"

One of Calvin's duplicates scoffed when he heard that. "Of course I would. I thought them up for you!" Calvin had decided to go with one of his original ideas and give all the duplicates his memories.

"No, I thought them up!" one of Calvin's other duplicates suddenly blurted out. Hobbes was right – giving all these duplicates his memories might've not been the best idea. And unfortunately for him, he didn't plan for any tensions between himself in the most literal sense. Before he knew it, though, the three Calvins were barking at each other.

"I'm the original Calvin!"

"No, I am!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

Calvin's head began to hurt. This was supposed to be a three-way war between him and his allies, Stupendous Man, and Spaceman Spiff. Now, his regular duplicates were beginning to forget who was who, complicating things even further.

Hobbes, thankfully, was not having his problem yet. He and Safari Al were doing quite well against Stupendous Man and his duplicates.

"Man" Hobbes muttered as he threw one of Stupendous Man's duplicates towards the other. "I thought just one Calvin was annoying. But this is ridiculous!"

"But I'm not Calvin!" Stupendous Man yelled back, gritting his teeth. "I'm Stupendous Man!"

"You're stupendously annoying" Hobbes replied as he clawed Stupendous Man in the rear, causing the latter to yelp in agony.

Safari Al tried to slash his machete at Stupendous Man, which the latter narrowly dodged. "You and Spiff both!"

One of Calvin's duplicates spoke up. "It's time to undo what I started!"

Unfortunately for Hobbes and Safari Al, this only earned the ire of the other two Calvin duplicates. "No, we're undoing what I started!"

"I'm the original Calvin!"

"No, I am!"

"I'm the real deal!"

The three Calvins began beating each other up. Hobbes and Safari Al took a step back to let it sink in what was happening. Not too long after, Calvin and Tracer Bullet did the same. The four of them could only watch as the battle got more and more complicated.

Tracer Bullet tried to wrap his ahead around what was happening. "Okay, let me see if I got this straight. We're in conflict with Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff, who are in conflict with each other, and now Calvin's regular duplicates – who were initially on our side – are against them, us, and each other?"

Calvin gulped, for Tracer Bullet had managed to sum up the current situation pretty well. "Yes, Bullet…it would appear that way."

Safari Al had a look of panic on his face, for things had gone horribly, horribly wrong. "Well, then what?! What do we do?!"

"I say we sit back and just wait for them to be done taking out each other." Tracer Bullet replied. This situation had become too much for him, and he had grown tired from it. He saw little reason to continue doing anything about it. Safari Al didn't necessarily agree with Tracer Bullet.

"No, Bullet! We can't just sit back and let this all happen! We have to intervene, however we can!"

Once Safari Al expressed his frustration at Tracer Bullet, Hobbes looked down at Calvin with a curious look on his face. "Well, Calvin, you said you had a Plan B. Well, now would be a really good time for that Plan B of yours."

Calvin cupped his chin as he glanced Hobbes up and down. "I do have a Plan B, Hobbes – and Plan B is to duplicate you while we go get Galaxoid and Nebular's ship."

Hobbes' eyes widened when he heard that. Since Calvin having a Plan B was such a new concept, Hobbes had no idea what it could've been. However, he never would've guessed it to be that.

"Uh…ar-are you sure about, Calvin? You know how I am with your inventions."

"I do, Hobbes." Calvin replied. "But you're the strongest out of the four us. With more than one of you, you should be able to combat all those duplicates."

Hobbes turned his head to the left to see the Calvins, Spacemen Spiffs, and Stupendous Men all continuing to duke it out against each other. As much as he hated Calvin's inventions, it became apparent to the tiger that he had no choice. He was unsure of how well Plan B would go, but none of them would know until it was tried out. Hobbes let out a deep sigh. "Alright. Duplicate me as quickly as you can"

Calvin got out his Duplicator Gun from his back pocket, and aimed it as his tiger friend. He pressed the trigger seven times, creating seven duplicates of Hobbes. The eight Hobbes' all looked at each. None of them looked happy at having just been duplicated, but they also knew what had to be done.

"Alright, Hobbes. Now!"

The eight tigers all let out mighty roars, and they all charged their way into the brawl ahead. With Hobbes and his duplicates taking care of that situation, Calvin, Tracer Bullet, and Safari Al all dashed as quickly as they could to Galaxoid and Nebular's ship.  
\--

It didn't take long before a simple truth dawned upon Safari Al and Calvin – that they had forgotten where the ship landed. Both of them stood there dumbfounded, Safari Al scratching his had. "Well, this sucks, Calvin. Hey, Bullet – you remember where the ship was?"

Tracer Bullet groaned at the other two. "I think I do. I remember it being close by to Calvin's house."

Calvin and Safari Al all followed Tracer Bullet, and sure enough, he did have an idea of where the ship was – it was only about two or three minutes before they found it. They went inside the ship, and there stood Galaxoid and Nebular. It seemed as if the two had gotten up not too long ago, and what became very clear was that they were not happy to see Calvin.

"This is quite the conundrum you've started, Calvin!" Galaxoid yelled angrily. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Calvin scoffed at Galaxoid's words. "Hey, don't act as if this is entirely my fault. You two agreed to help me!"

Calvin's response caused Nebular to snicker. "See, Galaxoid. I told you we shouldn't have gone through with it, but did you listen to me? No!"

"Well, you can't blame me, Nebular! I figured negotiations with Calvin and Earth would be much easier if we just helped him out on his mission!"

Safari Al had just about enough of all the bickering and fighting he'd put up with today. "ENOUGH!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Calvin and Tracer Bullet both jumped. Not even Calvin knew he could be that loud.

Safari Al let out a deep sigh. "Sorry, sorry. It's just that we won't get anywhere by fighting each other! We need to think up a solution, now!"

Galaxoid had a look of determination on his face. "The boy's right. We need to think up a plan, now. Safari Al and Tracer Bullet, we'll need to study your physiology! Follow us!"

Tracer Bullet and Safari Al did exactly what Galaxoid and Nebular said, following them into one of the smaller rooms in the spaceship. Nebular turned around to look at Calvin. "Don't worry, Calvin. This will only take a few minutes"

The door shut behind the four, leaving Calvin alone. He was beginning to grow a bit anxious – he had no idea how Hobbes and his duplicates were doing. Given Hobbes' personality, he figured it was less likely his duplicates would turn on each than Calvin's did, but he was still getting worried about his best friend. He really hoped Galaxoid and Nebular wouldn't take long.

And sure enough, they didn't. After only a few minutes, Galaxoid, Nebular, Tracer Bullet, and Safari Al all came back, with smiles and smirks on their faces. This made Calvin a bit curious.

"It's time to end this, Calvin." Tracer Bullet said. "I know we keep saying it's time to end this, but this time it has actual meaning."  
\--

Five of the six Calvins laid unconscious on the ground, as did all of Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff's duplicates. Even four of Hobbes' duplicates were taken down. Hobbes and three of his duplicates stood against Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous Man, and the remaining Calvin - all of them determined to come out on top.

The remaining Calvin charged at Hobbes, but Hobbes barely had to do anything. All he had to do was move out of the Calvin's way. Just like that, the Calvin bonked his head onto the tree, knocking him out cold. Hobbes smiled smugly, a look he kept on his face when he turned his head to Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff.

"There's four of us and one of you, each" Hobbes gloated. "It's gonna be pretty hard to take down the likes of us"

Stupendous Man yelled out in anger, for the superhero had finally snapped. "Well, guess what? I was actually holding back a little. I like to enjoy my fights a little. But now…now I'm done holding back!"

He flew towards two of the Hobbes' and knocked them out cold with just one punch. He was just about to knock the original Hobbes out, but his remaining duplicate pounced on the superhero before he could do so.

"You know what?" Spaceman Spiff said as he grinned. This works out well for me, tigermen. With eight of you, my debt to the Mokians will be cleared for sure!" He decided to forget about Stupendous Man for a moment and focus on taking out the remaining two Hobbes'. He had to be very careful, however, lest Stupendous Man knock him out in a brief second. But then he got an idea.

"Hey, Stupendous Man!" he shouted, getting the superhero's attention. "Let's call a truce – and take down this tiger together!"

Stupendous Man raised an eyebrow. "An alliance? You're suggesting an alliance after everything we've done against each other?"

"We got off on the wrong foot. But just think about it. Think about the team we could make! With our powers and resources, we'd be unstoppable!"

Stupendous Man thought about it. Spaceman Spiff had proven himself a capable adversary, so perhaps he could be a reliable ally as well. He grinned at Spaceman Spiff, and the latter got the memo. Stupendous Man punched Hobbes in the stomach very hard, and as he was holding back a lot less, Hobbes was in a great deal of pain.

Stupendous Man then threw Hobbes towards the nearest tree. He threw the tiger with such strength that the tree shook, as if it was about to fall down. It didn't, but Hobbes found it hard to get up. Spaceman Spiff ran towards Hobbes and kicked him in the stomach, grinning as he did so.

Normally, Hobbes could take care of himself in a fight, but Stupendous Man had done a number on him. He could not fight back when Spaceman Spiff repeatedly punched him in the face, as much as he tried to. After a dozen or so blows to the face, Spaceman Spiff finally let up as Stupendous Man flew towards the two.

"So you mentioned that deal with the Mokians earlier – does it really matter if we take care of one of the Hobbes' for good?"

Spaceman Spiff pondered for a moment, before ultimately deciding that just seven tigermen would be enough to clear the debt. He shook his head at Stupendous Man, to the latter's delight.

"Farewell, Hobbes!"

"Think fast!" Calvin yelled. He, Tracer Bullet, Safari Al, and the aliens had just arrived, and Calvin had a silver ray gun in his hand. He pulled the ray gun's trigger towards Spaceman Spiff, and a wave of yellow energy flew towards Spaceman Spiff, engulfing him and disintegrating him.

Stupendous Man was aghast at Spaceman Spiff's demise, not knowing if he would be immune to the ray gun's effects or not. In a panic, he threw Hobbes' remaining duplicate at Calvin. Calvin just barely dodged the tiger, and then proceeded to fire at Stupendous Man.

"No! No!"

Stupendous Man got ready to fire away, but it was too late. The wave of yellow energy came towards him, and he too was no more.

Everyone took a moment to sigh in relief. The crisis was finally over. Spaceman Spiff and Stupendous Man had both been dealt with, and no more trouble could be caused by the two. Calvin used the ray gun to disintegrate his duplicates, Spaceman Spiff's duplicates, and Stupendous Man's duplicates. However, he was hesitant to get rid of any of the Hobbes' yet. He had no idea which one was the real Hobbes. Galaxoid saw the look on Calvin's face and figured what was going on.

"If you adjust this setting on the ray gun, Calvin, you can scan the Hobbes over there and see if he's the original one"

Calvin walked up to Hobbes and did just that, relieved when it turned out to be the real Hobbes. With that done and out of the way, he blasted at Hobbes' duplicates and undid them. Safari Al walked up to Calvin, with a look of content on his face. "My life was very short, yes, but none of this should've ever happened. I am ready."

"Well, I'm not" Tracer Bullet scoffed. "I would like to be around for more than an hour or two. I want to see the world, for pete's sake."

Calvin, Hobbes, Safari Al all stared at Tracer Bullet.

"Oh, come on! Why do I gotta go?"

They continued to stare at him. Tracer Bullet thought about it, and ultimately decided that Safari Al was right. "Alright, alright. I'm ready too."

Safari Al and Tracer Bullet had stayed by Calvin's side, so he wasn't as ecstatic to get rid of them. However, Safari Al was right. Everything from this mess needed to be undone. So he blasted at Safari Al and Tracer Bullet, and the two disintegrated into nothingness.  
\--

It didn't take long for Calvin to brief Galaxoid and Nebular on how the Earth was doing. When he was done, it was time for farewells. Calvin, Hobbes, and the aliens were all right by the latter two's ship, ready to part ways.

"This was…interesting" Galaxoid said to Calvin, having no reason to expect that any of this would happen. "I don't wish for it to happen again. That said, it was good to see you again, Calvin"

"It was good seeing you, too" Calvin replied. With that, Galaxoid got on board the ship. Nebular stayed behind, having one last thing to say to Calvin.

"So, Calvin, what did you think of Safari Al?"

"Uh, he was okay, I guess."

Nebular sighed in relief. "Oh, good. When the duplication process began, he didn't have enough to work with, so he borrowed some traits from that good duplicate we found in your memories"

Calvin groaned when he heard that. Now he was going to miss Safari Al a little bit less.

Nebular didn't have time to comment – he and Galaxoid were needed on their home planet. Nebular said his farewell and boarded the ship. As it blasted off into space, Calvin and Hobbes walked back into their backyard.

"Well, Hobbes" Calvin said as he looked up at the tiger. "I did learn something today. Never enlist the help of aliens for your projects"

Hobbes didn't really know what to say to that. "Uh….sure. That's a start, at least"

Calvin sighed. "I just want to go to my room now and lay in bed"

That would have to wait, however. Calvin's parents, Rosalyn, and Susie all came out from the kitchen, storming their way towards Calvin.

"I cannot believe what they told me!" Calvin's dad shouted towards his son. Calvin had no idea what was going on, but he figured Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff were involved in it somehow. "You are in so much trouble, young man!"

Calvin smiled nervously at the four. "Well, uh….you see, it's a funny story. It's just….AAAAAAH!" Calvin ran for his life, dashing into the woods. Calvin's parents, Rosalyn, and Susie all chased after him.

Hobbes felt bad for Calvin. After all, he was about to get in trouble for nothing he technically did. But he knew that this wasn't the end of the world. Calvin's parents would never take Hobbes away, and Calvin had a way around punishments. With the crazy day he had just endured, Hobbes felt that it was finally time for that nap of his.


End file.
